Members: Correspondence

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to answer question 273046, on Somali piracy, tabled on 29 April 2009.

Bill Rammell: My predecessor, the right hon. Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Ainsworth) replied on 4 June 2009,  Official Report, column 627W.

British Overseas Territories: Nature Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 357W, on British Overseas Territories: environment protection, what projects were funded from the £65,058 granted to the British Virgin Islands.

Chris Bryant: The following projects have been funded from the £65,058 granted under the Overseas Territories Environment Programme to the British Virgin Islands:
	Assisting the Jost Van Dyke Preservation Society to advance environmental protection and sustainable development;
	The publishing and launch of an Environmental CD Atlas and Teaching Resource for schools;
	Improving management of marine protected areas through assessment of the Marine Conservation Programme;
	Construction of a Mangrove Wetland Interpretive Centre;
	Working with the Conservation and Fisheries Department on a National Environmental Action Plan.

Mental Health Services

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which mental health conditions are treated by cognitive behavioural therapy available on the NHS; and what the average waiting time between diagnosis and commencement of a course of treatment was in each primary care trust in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Hope: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommends the national health service to offer cognitive behavioural therapy as a treatment for: antenatal and postnatal mental health problems; anti-social personality disorder; anxiety; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; bipolar disorder; borderline personality disorder; dementia; depression in adults; children and young people; drug misuse; bulimia; obsessive compulsive disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder; schizophrenia; self-harming; and violence. The actual use of this treatment is recorded in individual patient records and not held centrally. No data are held centrally on the average waiting time between diagnosis and the start of treatment. However, one of the central aims of the improving access to psychological therapies programme is to ensure that people needing to access these treatments are able to do so more rapidly by providing them in primary and community settings, such as general practitioner surgeries.

Sports: Drugs

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the legal basis is for the testing of professional sportsmen and women for drug use in the UK is.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 11 June 2009
	UK Sport is designated by Government to deliver the UK's national anti-doping testing programme in line with its 'National Anti-Doping Policy' and the principles and processes set out in the World Anti-Doping Code and accompanying International Standards.
	It carries out tests on sportsmen and women on the basis of their consent, either through a contractual relationship they may have with their National Federation or as a member, license holder etc. of their National Federation. In both cases they will consent to abiding by the rules of that sport, which include the anti-doping rules, and to make themselves available for testing.

Tourism: Balance of Payments

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the UK's tourism balance of payments was for 2008-09; and what information his Department holds for benchmarking purposes on the equivalent figures for  (a) France,  (b) Spain and  (c) the US in the same period.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 1 June 2009
	 Provisional data from the International Passenger Survey estimates a tourism balance of payments deficit of £20 billion in 2008-09.
	The Spanish Institute of Tourism Studies have published their 2008-09 tourism balance of payments showing a £24 billion surplus. The French Ministère de l'économie, de l'industrie et de l'emploi
	http://www.minefe.gouv.fr/
	published a paper "Le tourism en France en 2008" stating the provisional figures from the Banque de France on the tourism balance of payments surplus is £8.6 billion.
	In March 2009 the Bureau of Economic Analysis, part of the US Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, published a tourism balance of payments surplus of £17.9 billion.

Tourism: Finance

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make an estimate for benchmarking purposes of the level of financial support given to the tourist industry in other EU member states by their governments.

Barbara Follett: DCMS does not keep a record the financial support given to the tourist industry in other EU member states by their Governments.
	However in 2005 the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) published the following figures in their report 'Structures and Budgets of National Tourism Organisations, 2004/05'. These figures only reflect central government funding for marketing inbound tourism, and do not include regional or local government spend on marketing. These figures have been converted into sterling from dollars at the March 2005 exchange rate.
	The UNWTO have confirmed they plan to publish updated figures in the autumn for the period 2006-08.
	
		
			  Country (alphabetical)  Public sector budget for 2005 administer by National Tou rist Office/Agency(£ million( 1) )  Percentage public sector contribution to total budget  (i.e. rest from private sector) 
			 Austria 30.6 64.9 
			 Czech Republic 4.5 100 
			 Denmark 18.2 62.3 
			 Finland 17.6 61.1 
			 France 33.7 53.6 
			 Germany 20.6 78.8 
			 Greece 80.6 93.7 
			 Hungary 11.7 90.3 
			 Ireland 43.7 97.2 
			 Italy 32.9 86.7 
			 Netherlands 18.5 64.3 
			 Norway 18.9 32.2 
			 Poland 5.1 89.8 
			 Spain 63.7 100 
			 Sweden 9.3 70.4 
			 UK 35.5 72.9 
			 (1) Figures shown are converted to £ figures at the March 2005 exchange rate.  Source: UNWTO, Structures and Budgets of National Tourism Organisations, 2005.

Children: Maintenance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in which months since 1993 the number of cases on which decisions on maintenance have been made by the Child Support Agency and its successor have been exceeded by the number of case applications received; and what the figures in each category were in each such month.

Jonathan R Shaw: [holding answer 8 June 2009): The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in which months since 1993 the number of cases on which decisions on maintenance have been made by the Child Support Agency and its successor have been exceeded by the number of case applications received; and what the figures in each category were in each such month.
	The information you have requested is only available for the current statutory scheme from April 2003, and it is set out in the following table.
	Applications received exceeded clearances each month until March 2005 onwards when clearances exceeded applications received except in September 2005, October 2005, January 2006, February 2006, March 2006, and January 2008.
	The Agency has exceeded the expectations of the three year Operational Improvement Plan with just 49,200 uncleared current scheme applications at the end of March 2009 down from 225,600 in March 2005. This is the lowest number of current scheme applications outstanding since May 2003, two months after the scheme was launched.
	Table 2.1 of the March 2009 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS) gives information on the number of current scheme cases received and cleared by the Agency. The QSS is available in the House of Commons library or online at:
	http://www.childmaintenance.org/publications/statistics.html
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Month  Applications received  Applications cleared 
			 March 2003 11,100 1,400 
			 April 2003 16,600 2,800 
			 May 2003 20,900 3,600 
			 June 2003 23,100 7,900 
			 July 2003 26,800 10,500 
			 August2003 21,700 10,800 
			 September 2003 25,000 16,100 
			 October 2003 31,100 18,300 
			 November 2003 26,300 16,300 
			 December 2003 18,500 14,100 
			 January 2004 25,800 16,200 
			 February 2004 23,800 16,200 
			 March 2004 30,100 18,800 
			 April 2004 28,400 26,000 
			 May 2004 30,000 18,300 
			 June 2004 26,900 17,700 
			 July 2004 23,900 16,700 
			 August 2004 26,400 16,000 
			 September 2004 25,400 18,000 
			 October 2004 24,900 18,000 
			 November 2004 25,000 19,200 
			 December 2004 18,900 13,800 
			 January 2005 23,200 20,400 
			 February 2005 25,000 22,700 
			 March 2005 25,300 26,800 
			 April 2005 24,500 25,200 
			 May 2005 25,100 27,400 
			 June 2005 24,800 26,100 
			 July 2005 25,400 26,600 
			 August 2005 23,100 25,500 
			 September 2005 24,900 24,500 
			 October 2005 27,500 25,200 
			 November 2005 29,900 32,800 
			 December 2005 23,400 27,100 
			 January 2006 30,000 28,800 
			 February 2006 34,500 29,900 
			 March 2006 34,700 34,000 
			 April 2006 24,700 29,400 
			 May 2006 24,600 26,600 
			 June 2006 25,600 28,800 
			 July 2006 23,400 30,900 
			 August 2006 24,600 26,500 
			 September 2006 23,100 25,900 
			 October 2006 20,000 29,300 
			 November 2006 22,200 23,700 
			 December 2006 16,400 20,000 
			 January 2007 24,600 27,200 
			 February 2007 33,600 48,100 
			 March 2007 27,400 40,200 
			 April 2007 22,300 28,600 
			 May 2007 24,900 31,500 
			 June 2007 26,100 31,000 
			 July 2007 24,700 30,700 
			 August 2007 26,800 29,200 
			 September 2007 25,200 26,900 
			 October 2007 27,300 29,000 
			 November 2007 27,000 29,800 
			 December 2007 18,100 20,400 
			 January 2008 28,200 27,900 
			 February 2008 27,000 30,600 
			 March 2008 21,700 27,000 
			 April 2008 24,500 28,000 
			 May 2008 22,600 26,400 
			 June 2008 24,100 30,300 
			 July 2008 26,200 31,900 
			 August 2008 16,500 20,900 
			 September 2008 11,900 15,600 
			 October 2008 7,800 19,800 
			 November 2008 7,300 11,600 
			 December 2008 5,300 9,700 
			 January 2009 8,100 9,200 
			 February 2009 7,900 9,000 
			 March 2009 7,700 10,300 
			  Notes :   1. Only includes current scheme cases. Data only available from March 2003. 2. Cleared applications are those that have had a maintenance calculation carried out and a payment arrangement between the parent with care and non-resident parent put in place; a maintenance calculation carried out and nil liability established; a parent with care has been identified as claiming good cause or is subject to a reduced benefit decision; the application is identified as being a change of circumstance on an existing case; or the application has been closed. 3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Services

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many calls received by the Jobcentre Plus contact centre were  (a) answered and  (b) not answered (i) in each month of the last two years and (ii) in each year since 1997; and what the average waiting time for a call to be answered was in each such period;
	(2)  how many calls received by the Jobcentre Plus virtual telephony platform were  (a) answered and  (b) not answered in each (i) month and (ii) year since the platform became operational; and what the average waiting time for a call to be answered was in each such period.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked the Acting Chief Executive to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many calls received by the Jobcentre Plus contact centre were (a) answered and (b) not answered (i) in each month of the last two years and (ii) in each year since 1997; and what the average waiting time for a call to be answered was in each such period, and how many calls received by the Jobcentre Plus virtual telephony platform were (a) answered and (b) not answered; and what the average waiting time for a call to be answered was in each such period in each (i) month and (ii) year since the platform became operational. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The tables below provide information on the total number of calls offered to Jobcentre Plus contact centres and the numbers answered and unanswered with average speed of answer where available.
	
		
			  Monthly totals in each of the last two years 
			   Calls offered  Calls answered  Calls not answered  Average speed of answer 
			 April 2007 1,270,097 1,193,589 76,508 — 
			 May 2007 1,494,634 1,433,620 61,014 — 
			 June 2007 1,385,229 1,303,400 81,829 — 
			 July 2007 1,503,454 1,367,340 136,114 — 
			 August 2007 1,810,741 1,662,161 148,580 — 
			 September 2007 1,468,596 1,370,874 97,722 — 
			 October 2007 1,370,292 1,306,836 63,456 — 
			 December 2007 855,633 802,032 53,601 — 
			 January 2008 1,998,319 1,872,925 125,394 — 
			 February 2008 1,450,419 1,383,025 67,394 — 
			 March 2008 1,357,724 1,125,320 232,404 — 
			 April2008 1,373,527 1,258,862 114,665 — 
			 May 2008 1,599,042 1,482,936 116,106 — 
			 June 2008 1,558,995 1,195,905 363,090 — 
			 July 2008 1,881,447 1,622,186 259,261 00:01:30 
			 August 2008 1,392,754 1,304,201 88,553 00:01:17 
			 September 2008 1,514,106 1,360,135 153,971 00:01:45 
			 October 2008 1,933,292 1,729,172 204,120 00:01:40 
			 November 2008 1,732,641 1,404,725 327,916 00:02:52 
			 December 2008 940,345 845,350 94,995 00:01:58 
			 January 2009 2,301,754 2,068,444. 233,310 00:01:46 
			 February 2009 1,768,980 1,603,397 165,583 00:01:32 
			 March 2009 1,641,803 1,550,319 91,484 00:01:17 
			  Note: Data on average speed of answer is only available since July 2008, following the introduction of virtual telephony platform which enabled this information to be recorded. 
		
	
	
		
			  Annual totals from 2004 
			   Calls offered  Calls answered  Calls not answered 
			 2004-05 14,910,760 12,108,721 2,802,039 
			 2005-06 18,257,052 15,956,298 2,300,754 
			 2006-07 18,848,944 17,954,117 894,827 
			 2007-08 17,587,392 16,341,493 1,245,899 
			 2008-09 19,638,686 17,425,632 2,213,054 
			  Note: Data is only available since the creation of Jobcentre Plus Contact Centre Directorate in 2004. 
		
	
	
		
			  Monthly totals since virtual telephony platform complete July 2008 
			   Calls offered  Calls answered  Calls not answered  Average speed of answer 
			 July 2008 1,881,447 1,622,186 259,261 00:01:30 
			 August 2008 1,392,754 1,304,201 88,553 00:01:17 
			 September 2008 1,514,106 1,360,135 153,971 00:01:45 
			 October 2008 1,933,292 1,729,172 204,120 00:01:40 
			 November 2008 1,732,641 1,404,725 327,916 00:02:52 
			 December 2008 940,345 845,350 94,995 00:01:58 
			 January 2009 2,301,754 2,068,444 233,310 00:01:46 
			 February 2009 1,768,980 1,603,397 165,583 00:01:32 
			 March 2009 1,641,803 1,550,319 91,484 00:01:17

Social Security Benefits

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 62-63W, on social security benefits, when she plans to place the information on benefit rates in the Library; and for what reason the information has not yet been placed there.

Jonathan R Shaw: It was intended that the information on benefit rates would be deposited in the Library on 5 May 2009 but in fact it was not deposited until a week later, on 12 May 2009. The delay was due to an administrative oversight, for which I apologise.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget for her Department's 'We're closing in' campaign is; and how much her Department has spent on the element of the campaign conducted in Alicante.

Jim Knight: In 2008-09, expenditure for the 'We're Closing In' campaign was £5.8 million. Out of this amount, we spent £46,000 on communications in Spain which were designed to raise awareness of the new hotline in Alicante.

Vocational Training

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps his Department has taken to assist unemployed people aged over 55 into work.

Jim Knight: The Government already provide back-to-work support for those wishing to re-enter the labour market, including those aged 50 and over, through Jobcentre Plus, local employer partnerships, the new deal and pathways to work. We intend to extend this as detailed in the Welfare Reform Bill.
	However, in response to the current economic downturn the Government have already committed £0.5 billion of additional support to help prevent people out of work from becoming long-term unemployed.
	We have doubled the resources available to the Rapid Response Service. The service offers support across the country for those people facing redundancy with immediate help and advice, including skills assessments and retraining, to ensure that people get back to work as soon as possible.
	Since April, financial incentives of up to £2,500 have been available to employers that recruit and train people who have been unemployed for six months or longer.
	We have also introduced extra funding for training places to help unemployed people learn new skills to maximise their chances of getting jobs from the 455,000 unfilled vacancies in the three months to April 2009. In addition there are opportunities to volunteer, to help people back into work habits, and help to start a business, with advice on creating a business plan plus funding for the first months of trading.
	A major factor in the employment of older people is employer behaviour. In addition to providing generic good practice guidance to employers, the UK's Age Positive initiative is working in partnership with business leaders to develop sector-based models of flexible retirement to support the increased employment and retention of older workers and the removal of fixed retirement ages.
	Our plans for the future include providing guidance to older workers on their options for working longer, encouraging employers to increase flexible work and phased retirement opportunities, a review of the Default Retirement Age in 2011—if it is found to be no longer needed it will be removed, and monitoring the impact of the economic downturn to identify which groups are being most affected and targeting further help where it is most needed.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer question 274723, tabled on 12 May 2009, on child maintenance.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 4 June 2009
	I replied to the hon. Member's question on 3 June 2009,  Official Report , column 537W.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 28 April 2009, on fuel tax PO Ref: 1/71584/2009.

Kitty Ussher: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Aviation

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  what recent progress has been made in the development of a universal consumer protection scheme for air travellers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of provisions for the protection of passengers affected by the sudden financial collapse of an airline;
	(3)  with reference to the answer of 21 October 2008,  Official Report, column 289W, on the XL Leisure Group, what steps have been taken to improve the experience of passengers in future airline or tour operator failures.

Paul Clark: The Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL) scheme organised by the Civil Aviation Authority fully protects passengers on package holidays if their airline, or other travel company, become insolvent.
	Passengers not on package holidays have two main options by which they can help protect themselves against airline insolvency if they so choose:
	(i) purchasing tickets by credit card, which in most cases will provide at least refund of any ticket that cannot be used;
	(ii) purchasing insurance against airline failure (available free-standing product or as part of some travel insurance policies).
	The Department for Transport recognises the complexity for consumers of airline insolvency protection arrangements. To help address this, we have placed guidance for holiday makers about the options available on the Directgov website
	www.direct.gov.uk/holidayprotection
	This guidance was prepared in conjunction with the air transport industry and the Civil Aviation Authority. It is supplemented with an information campaign which has generated press articles.
	The Department is now considering options for the reform of ATOL with a view to providing greater protection and clarity to consumers about what holidays are or are not covered by the scheme. A consultation is planned for later in 2009.
	The Government have no plans to provide statutory financial protection for all flights. They carefully considered an option to this effect in 2005, but rejected it as being disproportionate to the risks faced by consumers.

Departmental Billing

Mark Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many and what proportion of invoices his Department and its agencies paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: Information on the proportion of invoices paid within 10 days of receipt for the Department for Transport and it's agencies (save for data for the Vehicle and Certification Agency) is only available from January 2009
	The figures from January 2009 are set out in the table:
	
		
			  Department/agency  January 2009  February 2009  March 2009  April 2009  May 2009 
			 DFT Central Department 36.88 43.13 51.86 64.85 74.58 
			 Driving Standards Agency 35.91 49.64 55.60 67.24 67.67 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 31.57 31.06 28.55 75.15 81.41 
			 Highways Agency 75.16 79.75 73.18 26.15 79.73 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 92.53 93.80 95.23 94.60 92.69 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 80.20 86.98 87.71 91.82 92.61 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency 43.01 32.13 52.75 29.74 59.20 
			 Average 61.19 65.42 67.06 56.88 80.32 
			 (1) No data  Note: Figures exclude VCA data.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minster of State, Department for Transport how many notifications his Department made to the Information Commissioner in the year ended 30 April 2009 in respect of the loss or mishandling of personal information or data; what was notified in each such case; and how many individuals were the subjects of personal information or data in respect of which such notifications were made.

Chris Mole: Under the mandatory requirements of the Data Handling Report published on 25 June 2008, the Department for Transport is required to give a summary report on data breaches reported to the Information Commissioner in our annual resource accounts.
	The Department for Transport has reported on personal data breaches in the 2007-2008 annual resource account and this can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/publications/ei/secresaccs/resourceaccounts0708.pdf.
	We will be publishing information on personal data security breaches reported to the Information Commissioner for the 2008-09 reporting year before Parliament rises in July. The information is currently being compiled and is to be audited and verified before it is laid before Parliament.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Roads plans to reply to the email from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 8 May 2009, about shared surface, Ref: JF/PC/012668/09.

Sadiq Khan: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State replied to the hon. Member in a letter dated 18 May 2009.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) special advisers and  (b) officials accompanied her to Glasgow for the Cabinet meeting on 16 April 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The then Secretary of State was accompanied by a special adviser. For information relating to the Cabinet and public engagement event held in Glasgow on 16 April 2009 I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 June 2009,  Official Report, column 487W.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what car journeys she took in attending the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The then Secretary of State took the following car journeys:
	(1) From her hotel in the city centre to FARE (Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse) in Easterhouse, including a guided car tour of Easterhouse and Rogerfield
	(2) From FARE to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) where the Cabinet meeting was held.
	(3) From the SECC to Glasgow Central train station.
	For information relating to the Cabinet and public engagement event held in Glasgow on 16 April I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 June 2009,  Official Report, column 487W.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much expenditure was incurred by her Department in respect of the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The expenditure incurred was £871.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what expenditure on  (a) travel,  (b) accommodation and  (c) food (i) she and (ii) officials in her Department incurred in connection with the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information is as follows:
	 (i) The costs incurred for the then Secretary of State's visit to Glasgow were:
	  (a) travel—£497
	  (b) accommodation—£78
	  (c) no additional costs were claimed for food.
	 (ii) The costs incurred for her special adviser were:
	  (a) travel—£218
	 (b) accommodation—£78
	  (c) no additional costs were claimed for food.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many notifications his Department made to the Information Commissioner in the year ended 30 April 2009 in respect of the loss or mishandling of personal information or data; what was notified in each such case; and how many individuals were the subjects of personal information or data in respect of which such notifications were made.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No such notifications have been made by the Department for Communities and Local Government in the 12 months to 30 April 2009.

Regional Ministers: Official Engagements

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the official engagements of  (a) the Minister for London,  (b) the Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber,  (c) the Minister for the South East,  (d) the Minister for the North West,  (e) the Minister for the East of England,  (f) the Minister for the East Midlands,  (g) the Minister for the South West,  (h) the Minister for the North East and  (i) the Minister for the West Midlands in their roles as regional ministers were between (i) 1 and 31 March, (ii) 1 and 30 April and (iii) 1 and 31 May 2009.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Children in Care: Personal Records

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 413W, on children in care: personal records, what penalties local authorities may incur for not keeping children's records for the required amount of time.

Dawn Primarolo: Where a local authority failed to comply with regulations by not keeping children's records for the required time, then the person(s) whose records were lost would be entitled to take legal action to seek whatever redress is judged to be appropriate from the authority concerned.

Rehabilitation: Lincolnshire

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1434W, on rehabilitation: Lincolnshire, how much of the  (a) £24.7 million and  (b) matched additional funds for drugs and alcohol treatment is being provided for residential treatment for under-18s.

Dawn Primarolo: That information is not held centrally. The £24.7 million pooled treatment budget is allocated to local authorities to enable them to commission treatment services according to the local needs of young people. Additional funds from the Primary Care Trust and the Area Based Grant are also used to fund specialist treatment services where appropriate.
	For the vast majority of young people under 18 community-based services are the most appropriate option. There are a total of 35 residential places available across the country that is able to support young people with substance misuse and other complex needs. In addition, local authorities can arrange a package of support that combines specialist drug treatment with specialist children's home, fostering places or other supported accommodation.

Schools: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding the Government allocated to increasing parental engagement in schools in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to supporting parental engagement, that support can take many forms at a local level such as targeted support and family learning. In the Children's Plan: Progress Report published in December 2008 we outlined further measures to support parents, schools and early years settings in engaging parents as partners in their children's learning—comprising action to support parents and to prioritise parental engagement throughout the education system.
	It is important that support for parental engagement is embedded in the day to day work of professionals in schools and early years settings and is established as part of the core business of those organisations.
	This means a variety of funding routes should be used to support parental engagement. However, the main initiatives that cover parental engagement in schools are extended services including parent support advisors and family learning interventions.
	Because parental engagement is only one element of extended services decisions are made locally about spending and priorities, it is only possible to give overall government funding on these programmes for this area. Details of funding for these programmes since their inception are set out in the following table.
	It is not possible to provide figures for Castle Point as they are a district of Essex and funding is only provided to local authorities.
	
		
			   Extended services( 1)  Family learning( 2) 
			  Essex   
			 2003-04(3) n/a 0 
			 2004-05 n/a 0 
			 2005-06 1,949,295 0 
			 2006-07 3,797,326 0 
			 2007-08 4,667,039 0 
			 2008-09 5,172,358 44,541 
			 2009-10 7,514,337 — 
			 2010-11 6,190,553 — 
			 (1 )Is made up of start up, sustainability and subsidy funding. Subsidy funding is only in 2008 to 2010 and has not been allocated for 2010 yet. The sustainability line includes funding for PSAs from 2008 onwards. (2 )Allocation for 2009 onwards has not been decided yet. (3 )The funding from 2003 to 2006 is for full service extended schools and includes allocation for start up, co-ordinators and child care.

Schools: Merseyside

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has allocated to increasing parental engagement in schools in  (a) Crosby and  (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to supporting parental engagement, that support can take many forms at a local level such as targeted support and family learning. In the Children's Plan: Progress Report published in December 2008 we outlined further measures to support parents, schools and early years settings in engaging parents as partners in their children's learning—comprising action to support parents and to prioritise parental engagement throughout the education system.
	It is important that support for parental engagement is embedded in the day to day work of professionals in schools and early years settings and is established as part of the core business of those organisations.
	This means a variety of funding routes should be used to support parental engagement. However, the main initiatives that cover parental engagement in schools are extended services including parent support advisors and family learning interventions.
	Because parental engagement is only one element of extended services decisions are made locally about spending and priorities, it is only possible to give overall government funding on these programmes for this area. Details of funding for these programmes since their inception is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Extended services( 1)  Family learning( 2) 
			  Sefton   
			 2003-04(3) 213,000 0 
			 2004-05 145,000 0 
			 2005-06 500,603 0 
			 2006-07 959,510 0 
			 2007-08 1,184,746 0 
			 2008-09 1,285,292 39,123 
			 2009-10 1,815,975 — 
			 2010-11 1,393,927 — 
			
			  Merseyside   
			 2003-04(3) 1,756,568 0 
			 2004-04 1,639,568 0 
			 2005-06 2,497,193 0 
			 2006-07 5,034,181 0 
			 2007-08 6,711,863 0 
			 2008-09 8,180,183 305,850 
			 2009-10 11,050,076 — 
			 2010-11 7,539,961 — 
			 (1 )Is made up of start up, sustainability and subsidy funding. Subsidy funding is only in 2008 to 2010 and has not been allocated for 2010 yet. (2)Allocation for 2009 onwards has not been decided yet. (3) The funding from 2003 to 2006 is for full service extended schools and includes allocation for start up, co-ordinators and child care.

Schools: Parents

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has allocated towards increasing parental engagement in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire and  (b) the East of England schools in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to supporting parental engagement, that support can take many forms at a local level such as targeted support and family learning. In the Children's Plan: Progress Report published in December 2008 we outlined further measures to support parents, schools and early years settings in engaging parents as partners in their children's learning—comprising action to support parents and to prioritise parental engagement throughout the education system.
	It is important that support for parental engagement is embedded in the day to day work of professionals in schools and early years settings and is established as part of the core business of those organisations.
	This means a variety of funding routes should be used to support parental engagement. However, the main initiatives that cover parental engagement in schools are extended services including parent support advisors and family learning interventions.
	Because parental engagement is only one element of extended services decisions are made locally about spending and priorities, it is only possible to give overall Government funding on these programmes for this area. Details of funding for these programmes since their inception is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Extended Services( 1)  PSA pilot( 2)  Family Learning( 3) 
			  Bedfordshire (until 31 March 2009)
			 2003-04(4) 0 n/a 0 
			 2004-05 0 n/a 0 
			 2005-06 673,807 n/a 0 
			 2006-07 1,118,420 n/a 0 
			 2007-08 1,424,510 n/a 0 
			 2008-09 1,758,593 n/a 74,283 
			 2009-10 0 n/a — 
			 
			  Bedford (from 1 April 2009)
			 2003-04(4) n/a n/a 0 
			 2004-05 n/a n/a 0 
			 2005-06 n/a n/a 0 
			 2006-07 n/a n/a 0 
			 2007-08 n/a n/a 0 
			 2008-09 n/a n/a 0 
			 2009-10 1,041,449 n/a 0 
			 
			  Central Bedford (from 1 April 2009)
			 2003-04(4) n/a n/a 0 
			 2004-05 n/a n/a 0 
			 2005-06 n/a n/a 0 
			 2006-07 n/a n/a 0 
			 2007-08 n/a n/a 0 
			 2008-09 n/a n/a 0 
			 2009-10 1,447,256 n/a 0 
			 
			  GO East
			 2003-04(4) 282,000 n/a 0 
			 2004-05 1,761,279 n/a 0 
			 2005-06 8,648,274 n/a 0 
			 2006-07 16,219,812 956,907 0 
			 2007-08 20,187,899 1,913,815 0 
			 2008-09 25,338,893 664,700 684,460 
			 2009-10 35,602,140 0 — 
			 (1) Is made up of start up, sustainability and subsidy funding. Subsidy funding is only in 2008-10 and has not been allocated for 2010 yet. The sustainability line includes funding for PSAs from 2008 onwards. (2) The pilot ran until September 2008. (3) Some of the funding for Bedfordshire is being utilised in the Mid Bedfordshire geographical area (along with the South Bedfordshire District and Bedford Borough areas) but it would be very difficult to identify exactly how much. Allocation for 2009 onwards has not been decided yet. (4) The funding from 2003-06 is for Full Service Extended Schools and includes allocation for start-up, co-ordinators and child care.

Overseas Aid

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answers of 5 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1131W, on overseas aid, and 24 March 2009,  Official Report, column 265W, on sub-Saharan Africa: malaria, for what reasons data on the levels of demand for bed nets are no longer available by country.

Michael Foster: Data on levels of actual demand, at community level, by country is not available. The wording of earlier answers did not make a clear distinction between this and demand levels for procurement purposes.
	As stated in the answer of 24 March 2009,  Official Report , column 265W, the World Malaria Report, issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in September 2008 (which can be found at http://www.who.int/malaria/wmr2008/malaria2008.pdf) includes detailed data on levels of bed-net ownership, usage and coverage by country.
	For procurement purposes, the demand for insecticide treated bed nets is estimated using routine epidemiological and population data collected by national malaria control programmes. However, data on demand at community level is not routinely collected and to do so would be impractical given the financial and human resource constraints available in poorer developing countries.